Innovation Week

Schedule Of Events

Youth in Technology Conference

Organization:NATI and College of the North Atlantic

Date: Thursday, May 3rd

Time: 9:00 am – 1:30 pm

Location: College of the North Atlantic, Prince Philip Drive Campus

This one-day session includes activities that will expose grade nine students to a wide range of careers in the technology sector and provide inspiration for their academic plans. Through this conference, NATI and the College of the North Atlantic aim to boost interest in the technology sector among youth. The conference will feature a series of speakers from the local technology sector. Each speaker will represent a different career option within the sector, so that students realize the full range of opportunity that exists.

Social Innovation Challenge

Organization:Centre for Social Enterprise, United Church of Canada, the Cochrane Centre

Date: Friday, May 11th – Saturday, May 12th

Time: May 11th from 6:00 pm-9:00 pm and May 12th, from 8:30 am – 4:00 pm

Location: Cochrane Community Outreach and Performance Centre

The Social Innovation Challenge is a two day pitching competition focused on supporting social enterprises and driving social impact. The event is designed by the United Church of Canada with the goal of transforming communities and opening conversations on innovative solutions to persisting social problems.

Participants can range from high school and post-secondary students to members of the larger community. The local community is invited to attend the final pitching event at the end of the challenge.

Our societies are facing extraordinary challenges: increasing inequality, rising poverty rates, unstable economies, climate change, and a raft of other issues. At the same time, technologies are transforming the world in which we live, markets are undergoing massive change, and philanthropists are changing their practices. The speed of change is faster than ever, and the social and environmental need is reaching a frightening crescendo.

Ideas are the lifeblood of innovation. Sometimes they emerge from a deliberate and rigorous process. Sometimes they are a response to an emerging or pressing need. And sometimes they just seem to appear out of thin air.

Social innovation projects all have a few things in common: they are emerging, involve incredible social entrepreneurs, and are positioned to make a real difference in the communities they serve. And they each address one of more key priorities: market transformation, entrepreneurship, collaboration, and systems change. Possible categories for projects includes:

Presented jointly by the Association for New Canadians, MUN Grenfell, the Navigate Entrepreneurship Centre, and the Newfoundland and Labrador Workforce Innovation Centre at the College of the North Atlantic, the Innovation 2.0 Conference will explore how entrepreneurship, diversity, and workforce development can foster an innovative, collaborative, and forward-thinking economic landscape in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The full-day conference will consist of a series of three “conversations” focusing on each of the conference’s major themes. Conversation 1, led by Visiting Assistant Professor Billy Newell, will showcase the Navigate Entrepreneurship Centre’s innovative new “Makerspace.” A discussion with Darren Pelley, General Manager of Corner Brook Pulp and Paper, will follow. Conversation 2, led by the Association for New Canadians, will feature a Keynote Address on the innovative power of cultural diversity. The address will be delivered by Emily Brennan, Marketing Manager of the Moncton-based software company Alongside, which specializes in online recruitment platforms. Conversation 3, led by the Newfoundland and Labrador Workforce Innovation Centre, will consist of a panel discussion featuring leaders from local industry sectors discussing workforce development challenges and innovative solutions.

Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in roundtable discussions addressing the major themes of the conference. A catered lunch, featuring authentic Indian cuisine served by Nirvana, is included. There is no cost to attend but advance registration is required to guarantee your spot. To register, please visit http://www.ancnl.ca/innovation/ or call 709-722-0718.

Cleantech Innovation Connector

Organization: NEIA

Date: Monday, May 14th

Time: 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Location: The Alt Hotel St. John’s, 125 Water St, St. John’s,

The Cleantech Innovation Connector matches environmental challenges and opportunities within key Newfoundland and Labrador industries with those interested in helping pursue solutions – researchers, entrepreneurs, and intrapreneurs within established innovative firms.

The event aims to help establish industry priorities and set the stage for the clean technology development right here in Newfoundland and Labrador – products and services that can then be exported through supply chains worldwide.

For firms with market-ready clean technologies, the Innovation Connector also features a special Cleantech Global presentation which will outline how firms can leverage a variety of different supports to engage in international business.

Driving Social Change from Inside the Kitchen: Learning from the Innovations at the Hungry Heart Café

Organization: Stella’s Circle and Centre for Social Enterprise, Memorial University

Date: Monday, May 14th

Time: 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm

Location: Hungry Heart Café, 142 Military Road, St. John’s

Experience social enterprise from the inside out! The Hungry Heart Cafe is a social enterprise of Stella’s Circle, used as a training opportunity for people who face many barriers from fully participating in their community. Now in its tenth year, this socially responsible neighbourhood café will be the site of an experiential learning activity. While at the Café, you will participate in concepts taught to participants in the kitchen and contribute to creating meals for the Café’s innovative Meals Squared program. You’ll also enjoy some tasty food from the Café and participate in a discussion by Stella’s Circle and the Centre for Social Enterprise about how to apply the lessons learned from this social enterprise to other settings.

Incubator Open House

Organization: NAVIGATE Entrepreneurship Centre

Date: Tuesday, May 15th, 2018

Time: 9:00a.m. – 10:00a.m.

Location: College of the North Atlantic Campus, Corner Brook, NL

As an addition to the Navigate Entrepreneurship Centre, a new business incubator will be opening at CNA – Corner Brook campus as a space to nurture, support and expand business startups. Navigate invites you to come and explore the new space, meet the new incubator manager, and see the potential the incubator will have for entrepreneurs in the region. You are also encouraged to leave your feedback on what you would like to see in the incubator, discuss how you would like to partner with the incubator, or to express interest in using the space in the near future. Coffee and treats will be available.

Registration Link: No registration required

Cost: Free

Resistance is Futile

Organization: St. John’s Board of Trade

Date: Tuesday, May 15th

Time 12:30 pm-2:00 pm

Location: Verafin, 18 Hebron Way, St. John’s, NL

Globally, labour markets are adapting to the impact of new technology, and the demand for skills is changing to match. Come out and chat with Patrick Snider from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce about the implications for training systems and skills development that will affect your company now and into the future.

Who is going to be replace?

How much might retraining all of those people cost?

What is the upside of automation?

How are we doing at giving people the skills they need so far?

Will every group in Canada be able to acquire the skills needed?

What kids of connections do businesses need to build to better manage the transition?

Innovation at Work!

Organization: College of the North Atlantic

Date: Tuesday, May 15th

Time: 8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Location: College of the North Atlantic, Prince Philip Drive Campus, St. John’s

The College of the North Atlantic’s Innovation at Work! event is a day-long innovation showcase highlighting novel projects and applied R&D at the College that are having a real impact on businesses, communities and post-secondary education throughout Newfoundland and Labrador. Comprised of the Industry Innovation Challenge, the Student Business Solutions Showcase, dozens of applied R&D poster sessions and tours/demonstrations of key equipment and facilities that enable innovation with our partners, Innovation at Work! is the College’s first public event showcasing how our 1200+ faculty and over 9000 students contribute to the innovation ecosystem throughout Newfoundland and Labrador. We invite you to register and join us for all or some of the following events. Tea, coffee and snacks provided throughout the day.

Every year at the College of the North Atlantic, graduating students must complete capstone projects that showcase the skills they’ve developed through working on an industry/community problem requiring a unique solution. The Business Solutions Student Showcase is designed to highlight the real-world solutions that College students are regularly providing for our industry/community partners through course projects, capstone projects, and college-managed applied R&D co-op placements. If you want to witness real-world impact on business operations, we invite you to join us for this event that showcases a number of projects from CNA students and recent graduates that are making a difference for companies in Newfoundland and Labrador. So, whether its automation, robotics, process optimization or logistics, come by and join us to see what student innovation looks like at College of the North Atlantic. An industry panel will judge the Business Solutions Student Showcase presentations and offer a R&D award to the winning team to pursue their project with their industry/community partner.

3.Seeing the World in a New Light- The Specim IQ Portable Hyperspectral Camera

Date: Tuesday, May 15th

Time: 1130 am -1:00 pm

Location: CNA Prince Philip Drive Campus

Everything in the world has its own unique light signature. One major problem, however, is that the human eye only has three colour receptors (blue, green and red). Bees have four colour receptors allowing them to distinguish 100 million colours – ten times the number of humans. But powerful devices – hyperspectral imagers – have been created that allow us to “see” billions of “colours” and, therefore, let us know the full composition of what we are viewing. Historically, these machines, unfortunately, have been large pieces of equipment that were limited to laboratories where samples are sent for characterization. To address this limitation, Specim has invented what is billed as the world’s first portable hyperspectral camera -the Specim IQ – that provides instantaneous hyperspectral imaging. Come and visit us at College of the North Atlantic where we will share some of the novel applications we are exploring with this technology, our experiences with the Specim IQ camera and for a conversation with the public on how it can be applied to your world.

Please note that the talk/demo will take place every 30 minutes from 1130 am – 1:00 pm.

College of the North Atlantic took possession of its new Laser Induced Breakdown Spectrometer (LIBS) machine in February 2018 – the only one of its kind in Atlantic Canada. LIBS is an incredibly fast and efficient analytical technique for trace elemental analysis in gases, solids, and liquids. At CNA, we are particularly interested in its applications for the mining industry to assist us in characterizing drill core samples, but the applications of LIBS technology are legion. From metallurgical analysis to food safety to archaeology, LIBS is a powerful tool to help us better understand the composition of the world around us. We invite you to visit us, see the machine in action, review work conducted to date and discuss with us how we may work together to explore LIBS applications to address your challenges. *Please note that participants to this event are limited to 12 people per tour. Tours will take on the half hour starting at 11:30 am-1:00 pm. Host: Dr. Gary Thompson

We invite the public to for a tour and discussion about the equipment and services available at the COllege’s Manufacturing Technology Centre. If you are interested in manufacturing, fabrication, prototyping and 3D printing, come and join for a look the College’s manufacturing hub

In order to remain competitive in a global marketplace, businesses need to be dedicated to continuous improvement through innovations that target increased productivity, reduced operational costs, and better product quality. The industry innovation challenge is designed to harness the incredible problem-solving power that can be leveraged by bringing students from various program areas together to help an industry client find ‘real’ solutions to ‘real’ product, process, and/or organizational challenges.

Industry Client: Rock Spirits

Rock Spirits is the manufacturing division of the Newfoundland Labrador Liquor Corporation (NLC). In operation for over 65 years, the company’s world class facility produces 15 NLC brands and provides co-packing services for 17 partner brands. The company offers comprehensive procurement, technical, quality and logistical support with blending and bottling capabilities for any size brand. Rock Spirit’s production facility is capable of specialty small production runs for start-ups to large scale high-speed production of established brands.

The Product: Crystal Head Vodka

Rock Spirits is a co-packaging partner with spirits brands sold across the globe including Crystal Head Vodka, which was originated by well-known Canadian actor, Dan Aykroyd, and his partner, John Alexander. Crystal Head Vodka is a unique achievement of creativity, craftsmanship, purity and quality. It is distilled from Canadian grown peaches and cream corn that achieves a creamy mouth feel with a hint of natural sweetness. It is blended with the pristine water of Newfoundland; a location where some of the purest, untouched water can be found. The skull-shaped bottle was proudly designed with a pure spirit in mind.

The Challenge: Labelling

Rock Spirits has been challenged with consistently locating labels in accordance with client requirements on the 50 ml Crystal Head Vodka bottles during the bottling operation. Although a mechanical labeler used in the bottling line performs as required, the orientation of the bottle on entry to the labeler is not consistent, thereby resulting in inconsistent locating of the label on the bottle. To overcome this in the short-term, an operator was assigned to the task of manually re-orienting the bottle prior to labeling. In an effort to find a longer-term more cost effective solution, Rock Spirits engaged the services of Proax Technologies Ltd to investigate and develop potential solutions to this problem. While some progress has been made, a final working solution has yet to be achieved.

In this innovation challenge, working in groups of four with the guidance of facilitators, College students are tasked with brainstorming potential solutions to this production problem and identifying 3 preferred alternative solutions that they consider worthy of further exploration and development by Rock Spirits in partnership with Proax Technologies Ltd. Students will need to document preferred solutions for presentation to an evaluation panel, who will select the group deemed to have the most viable potential solution. Opportunities for engagement of students from the selected group in a follow-up R&D project through the college’s Office of Applied Research and Innovation will be explored.

Innovation in Rural Canada

Organization:EXCITE, The Town of Grand Falls-Windsor hosting a special Innovation Week Luncheon

Date: Tuesday May 15th

Time: 11:30 am – 1:00 pm

Location: Corduroy Brook Building, Grand Falls- Windsor

Keynote Speaker: Paul Chipperton

Paul Chipperton, BSc, MBA is an award-winning serial entrepreneur in the Technology & Innovation sector. Currently he serves as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EiR) at Genesys Capital Partners, looking to deploy capital from their new C$ 125M Life Science fund.

Prior to that Paul was co-founder and CEO of Profound Medical Inc. (tsxv: prn), a company developing a unique, non-invasive, MR-guided approach to the treatment of Prostate Cancer, where he also negotiated and initiated clinical trials in Canada, Germany and USA. Under his leadership the company was anointed “2010 Ontario Premier’s Catalyst Award for Best Start-up” by Dalton McGuinty.

Paul earned his BSc, Applied Chemistry from Northumbria University in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, and subsequently an MBA with a double concentration in Strategy & Marketing from McGill.

He also serves as a co-founder, or on the board of directors of several entities, including: SWFTCharge, Intronix, and Angel Investors Ontario.

Brace for the Makerspace

Organization: NAVIGATE Entrepreneurship Centre

Date: Tuesday, May 15th, 2018

Time: 3:00p.m. – 4:00p.m.

Location: Grenfell Campus, Corner Brook

Debate NYYT

Organization:Genesis Centre and Harris Centre

Date: Tuesday, May 15th

Time: 6:00 pm-9:00 pm

Location: Geo Centre, St. John’s

As part of Innovation Week 2018, the Genesis Centre and the Harris Centre have partnered up to host Debate NYYT!

Failure will play an essential role if the province of Newfoundland and Labrador plans to engage itself in the business of innovation. The question then arises whether the province is ready to embrace the culture of failure or does the province find itself intolerant to this seemingly unpopular outcome. Debate NYYT aims to tackle this question with well-formed arguments, witty banter, and passionate debaters.

A team of two debaters will go against another team of two, in an evening that promises to bring both insight and compelling drama. Debate NYYT not only seeks to be thought provoking, but an encounter that also engages the local public. Audience participation is vital to the evening’s festivities, as the audience will have the opportunity to dictate the outcome! Join us for a reception following the debate.

This three-day workshop will bring together students, researchers, practitioners and community members to examine the impacts of climate change on coastal communities, specifically extreme weather and rising sea levels, particularly in Gros Morne and Western Newfoundland. These discussions are framed by the recently initiated national assessment on climate change impacts and risks, coordinated by the Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Division of Natural Resources Canada. The workshop will include a keynote address by Liette Vasseur, 10 paper presentations, two break-out sessions, a roundtable, and a youth forum. All sessions are open to the public and will be live-streamed.

NATI Knowledge Summit

Organization:NATI

Date: Wednesday, May 16th

Time: 8:00 am -3:45 pm

Location: Sheraton Hotel Newfoundland, St. John’s

Innovation is what drives the technology sector in Newfoundland and Labrador. It’s the key ingredient to success in the competitive global market. This is what the Knowledge Summit is all about. Come learn how to use innovative technologies to achieve your corporate goals. Hear how investing in new technology and innovative skills can drive your company to new heights and give you that competitive edge. Our expert speakers will engage, inform and inspire you with insightful talks on how you can achieve your business goals by harnessing innovation.

Are you thinking of starting your own business? Have you considered the Ocean Tech sector as a career/business opportunity? If so, come hear how local OT companies in this Province started out as students and then became their own boss!

Join MCE and OceansAdvance for a candid discussion with OT entrepreneurs operating here in Newfoundland and Labrador. Each company has a unique story to tell and advice to share for those who are considering following their lead!

This discussion will engage and inspire budding entrepreneurs to consider a career within Newfoundland and Labrador’s OT sector. The focus of the session will be stories of the successes, challenges, and failures of OT sector leaders who launched their careers from their graduate studies and research.

Robotics/Coding Workshop

Accelerando: Sing Your Heart out About Social Innovation!

Organization:Stella’s Circle

Date: Wednesday, May 16th

Time: 6:00-8:00 p.m.

Location: 114 Cabot Street, St. John’s

Studies indicate that isolation and loneliness can exacerbates illness. Creating community is one way to combat loneliness. Join an innovative social community–the Stella’s Circle Inclusion Choir—at a regular Wednesday night rehearsal. Participate in vocal warm-ups and sing with us! At the end of rehearsal, join in for our choir meal prepared by the Hungry Heart Café. In addition to seeing first-hand the therapeutic benefits of singing, experience why there’s growing evidence that singing in a group has social and other benefits that surpass participation in team sports. This event will also have application for employee wellness and team building. A fee of $5 or Pay What You Can.

Screening of Code Girl Movie

Join high school-aged girls from around the world as they try to better their community through technology and collaboration in this thrilling, heartfelt documentary.

By 2017, the app market will be valued at $77 Billion. Over 80% of these developers are male. The Technovation Challenge aims to change that by empowering girls worldwide to develop apps for an international competition. From rural Moldova to urban Brazil to suburban Massachusetts, CODEGIRL follows teams who dream of holding their own in the world’s fastest-growing industry. The winning team gets $10K to complete and release their app, but every girl discovers something valuable along the way.

How to Build Your Dream Network

Author and columnist, Kelly Hoey, will be doing a fireside chat on how to build and better utilize your networks. Reception to follow.

You’ve hit the circuit of industry happy hours, meetups and endless networking receptions, but do you have a powerful business network? In this program, Kelly Hoey who has built a powerful web of connections from tech to finance to media to government to fashion to law will share her insights and personal experiences on building and managing professional connections. Her common-sense approach to networking stands apart from traditional or random ‘event’ networking and focuses on making valuable connections with the right people, organizations and opportunities, in the right way (and is applicable whether you’re seeking app downloads, crowdfunding your venture or trying to navigate the startup ecosystem).

The Innovative Approach of Art Therapy

Organization: Stella’s Circle

Date: Friday, May 18th

Time: 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

Location: Just Us Women’s Centre – 142 Military Road, St. John’s

In the current climate of increasing awareness of mental illness and reduction of associated stigma, innovative approaches to health and overall wellness are being embraced and encouraged in many different sectors of our community. Art therapy is an innovative form of expressive therapy that uses the creative process of making art to improve a person’s physical, mental, and emotional well-being. The creative process involved in expressing one’s self artistically can help people to resolve issues as well as develop and manage their behaviors and feelings, reduce stress, and improve self-esteem and awareness.

This two-hour, hands-on, art workshop is for everyone! Learn how art therapy is an innovative alternative to traditional talk therapy and how everyone can benefit from this insightful experience. The art instructor and social worker who will lead this session have delivered art therapy to women in a correctional facility and will speak to their experiences of how art therapy has been effective. There will be a fee to attend this event and space is limited. Registration fee of $25.

The Paradigm Hyperloop Project Luncheon

Organization: Greater Corner Brook Board of Trade

Date: Friday, May 18th, 2018

Time: 12:00 – 1:30p.m.

Location: Glynmill Inn, Corner Brook, NL

A special luncheon presentation by Kyle Genge, Paradigm Hyperloop. Paradigm Hyperloop is an organization of students from Memorial University and Northeastern University in Boston working to bring the hyperloop concept to reality. Since 2015 the group has been competing to enter their pod in Elon Musk’s hyperloop competition at SpaceX and in August 2017, the team went on to win first place in North America and second worldwide with their unique air levitated pod.

Now the team is continuing their bold vision to accelerate the adoption of sustainable, faster than flight travel as well as designing and building a new pod for the next competition in summer 2019.

Women in Technology Lunch & Learn with Kelly Hoey

Organization:Genesis Centre

Date: Friday, May 18th

Time: 12:30pm-2:00pm

Location: Junior Commons Room, Gushue Hall

Join the Genesis Centre for Innovation Week as we host a very special guest, Kelly Hoey, to the Genesis Centre Women in Tech (WIT) Peer group! Moderated conversation (90 minutes with audience Q&A). Limited seats available, lunch will be provided.

The press has deemed her everything from: “1 of 5 Women Changing the World of VC/Entrepreneurship” to “100 Most Influential Tech Women On Twitter” and “100 NYC Tech Influencers You Need To Know”. Kelly is an advisor to NZTE and mentors startups in the Canadian Tech Accelerator program. She regularly appears as an investor panelist on CNBC’s Power Pitch, is an Inc.com columnist and hosted the first two seasons of the BroadMic podcast. In this session Kelly Hoey shares her investment journey from angel investor to co-founder of a startup accelerator to limited partner in two venture capital funds. Understand why she got off the investment sidelines (and why she thinks more women need to as well) and why she is vocal (and bullish) on investing in women.